Multiple Instrumental Case Studies of Inclusive STEM-Focused High Schools: Opportunity Structures for Preparation and Inspiration (OSPrl)

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The 2014 DR K-12 PI Meeting agenda is now online at http://cadrek12.org/2014-dr-k-12-pi-meeting/agenda
Visit our event page for logistics, poster guidelines and more!
Presenting a poster at the 2014 DR K-12 PI Meeting? Please read our poster guidelines for helpful advice: http://cadrek12.org/2014-dr-k-12-pi-meeting-poster-guidelines
This session seeks feedback on hands-on experiences for learning causal dynamics through collaborative inquiry activities in an immersive virtual ecosystem, including exploring potential opportunities for expanding the curriculum.
EcoMUVE (ecomuve.gse.harvard.edu) is a middle school science curriculum in which students explore an immersive virtual ecosystem and learn its causal dynamics through collaborative inquiry activities. In one experience, students explore a virtual pond and its biodiversity, traveling in time to see changes over the course of a virtual summer. They discover a fish kill and are tasked with figuring out why it happened. In another experience, students explore population dynamics and predator-prey relationships over 50 years in a virtual forest.
In this session, presenters describe three different approaches to studying mathematics classroom discourse. Participants analyze discourse and discuss benefits and potential drawbacks of various approaches to analysis.
In the past 20 years, mathematics education research has seen a turn toward the social and, consequently, discursive aspects of learning (Kieran, Forman, & Sfard, 2001; Ryve, 2011). A heightened attention to discursive features of instruction is seen in the recent publication Principles to Actions (NCTM, 2014), which describes an ambitious image of mathematics teaching and learning for the 21st century.
Presenters discuss how their projects contribute systemically to the design, implementation, and evaluation of quality elementary science programs.
Quality elementary science programs are faced with the challenge of adapting and/or building upon the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) in order to provide an essential foundation for student learning and interest in science. As such, these science programs must address how the practices of science can be linked with cross-cutting concepts through meaningful learning contexts that, of necessity, evolve progressively across grades.
Four projects investigating the characteristics and effectiveness of STEM-focused high schools present their contrasting methods and early findings.
This session focuses on methods and results from four current NSF-funded studies (three of which are funded under DR K–12). Two studies are attempting to capture the essential features of inclusive STEM-focused high schools and are developing data-based conceptual frameworks. One of these is conducting rich case studies of eight high-functioning, inclusive STEM high schools (ISHSs), drawn from seven different states, to build a common model for designing such schools.